Let’s talk holidays! I have so many friends that are all about Christmas and their family is all about Christmas but my family is all about Thanksgiving. When Patrick and I first started dating we decided that if we got married we’d always spend Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with his family because I have no interest in ever being away from the Magloire Clan on Turkey day.

Growing up there were a lot of holidays that we didn’t really celebrate (Christmas, Easter, Halloween), so maybe that’s one of the reasons why Thanksgiving is such a big deal to me. Besides our birthday’s it was the one holiday that my parents would go all out on and every memory I have of it is just so special. Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever.

As my siblings and I have gotten older and new members have been added to the family our Thanksgiving celebrations have gotten bigger and bigger. I don’t like to admit this but it’s become clear to me the older I get, that I’m very stingy with my family time. It takes me awhile to warm up to the idea of someone new soaking up even a little bit of the joy that fills our house. Whether it was a new spouse of one my siblings or someone’s friend that didn’t get to be with their own family for the holiday I couldn’t help but to side eye them hardcore for the first half of the day. Yeah, I’m that sibling.

I think that Patrick is making me a better person because for the first time in forever a new person spent the holiday with us and I was actually happy that they were there. Wade, Patrick’s little brother, stayed with us from Wednesday to Saturday morning and everyone enjoyed his company so much. I have to blog about our families soon and how well they get along because the Caseys and the Magloires mesh so well that you would think we’ve known each other forever. So having Wade at my parent’s house and around the dinner table during Thanksgiving felt so normal, I’m so glad that he was there and didn’t side eye him once.

One of the traditions that started a few years ago, when my dad all of a sudden became a deep frying champ, is that we have deep fried turkey every Thanksgiving. If you’ve ever had deep fried turkey then you’ll understand why I’m obsessed with it and I mean OBSESSED. I’m so in to deep fried turkey that my dad made it for Patrick and I for our rehearsal dinner. My family likes it so much that each year my dad has to make two so that there’s enough for everyone to have leftovers. It’s not Thanksgiving unless every person leaves with a to go plate.

It’s hard to try and put words to the feelings that this time of year and specifically this day, with my family, brings to my heart. It’s almost overwhelming for me. The joy of being surrounded by the people who know you the best and have watched you grow and change throughout the years. The people that can tease you endlessly but then turn around and fiercely defend you. The people that you go to for comfort and who you can call when you need to hear sounds from home.

I know that this is a bit different from my usual blogs but I couldn’t pass up sharing these pictures of my family and talking about how special our time together is. Check out a few more photos below and make sure to come back next week to read my new post entitled “The one about the shotgun wedding.” See you then!